Special Police Official (SPO) Adil Bashir fled with eight rifles from the official residence of PDP MLA Ajaz Ahmed Mir in Srinagar last night. The incident happened in the absence of Mir, who is in Jammu since the last 12 days. Adil, one of the eight guards of the MLA also took away Mir's licensed pistol with him.
The development comes close to the four-phase Municipal polls in Jammu-Kashmir that starts on October 8.
A police spokesman said in a statement, that the personal security officer of Wachi MLA Mir approached the Rajbagh police station and stated the weapons of seven PSOs attached with the him were missing from his official residence (J11) in Jawahar Nagar—the area housing official residences of officers and legislators.
''The involvement of SPO Adil Bashir of Zainpora, Shopian in the commission of the crime was also alleged,” the spokesman said. ''A police party reached the place of the incident and took cognisance of the matter.''
The statement said an FIR has been lodged and an investigation into the incident has begun.
Rupees two lakh has been announced as a reward for anyone capturing the SPO with the weapons.
According to police sources, Adil had entered J-11 at 6.30 pm to 'clean the rooms' and then took away eight rifles and Mir's pistol. Adil and Mir are residents of the same village, Zainpora in Shopian.
Soon after the police was informed of the incident, a high alert was sounded and checks on routes leading to south Kashmir was intensified. Police also checked vehicles at several places in Srinagar.
The police is trying to ascertain how Adil managed to open the lock of the trunk where the weapons were kept by the guards who are on duty while Mir was away at Jammu. They are also trying to find out how Adil managed entry into the quarters when the MLA and seven other guards were not present there.
The SPOs have been increasingly targetted by the militants in south Kashmir in an increasing tug of war between the militants and police. Several SPOs have quit the police after militants abducted 12 of their kin on August 31 and then shot dead three of them on September 22 in Shopian after abduction.
To prevent resignations by SPOs, the Centre on September 26 had hiked the salaries of SPO from Rs 6,000 to Rs 15,000.
